Notes



v (No Model.) 2Sheets-Sheet 1.

RD. RICHARDSON & G. A. SADLEIB.

INDEXED FILE.

Patented Jan. 20, 1891.

Wneyy L. 8 C mm I N T l1 11 E H 5W TM A L I T s M; E. SW. 4 W 0 M l NE, a

WZZJVESSLS aw (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sl1eet 2. R. D. RICHARDSON & O. A. SADLEIR.

INDEXED FILE.

No. 444,853. Patented. Jam-20, 1891.

Prion.

ROBERT DENNIS RICHARDSON, OF VVINNIPEG, AND CHARLES ALDBOROUGH SADLEIR, OF TORONTO, CANADA.

INDEXED FILE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 444,853, dated January 20, 1891.

Application filed March 8, 1890. Serial No. 343,127. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that we, ROBERT DENNIS RIcH- ARDSON, residing at IVinnipeg, in the Prov ince of Manitoba, and CHARLES ALDBOR- OUGH SADLEIR, residing at Toronto, Province of Ontario, Dominion of Canada, subj ects of the Queen of Great Britain, have invented certain new and useful Improve ments in Indexed Files; and we do hereby de- I0 clare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Ourinvention consists of the improved form of indexed file for notes and papers, hereinafter to be described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a complete case, with several compartments filled with the notes and papers properly filed. Figs. 2, 3, and 4 are perspective views of portfolios and corresponding blanks designed to be used in different compartments of the case. Fig. 5 is a modification. Fig. 6 is a tabular index.

Throughout the drawings like reference letters refer to like parts.

It is extremely desirable for clergymen and other professional men who are continually dealing with a particular range of subjects to have a convenient file in which stray notes and memoranda of all sorts may be readily placed and to which subsequent reference may readily and accurately be made. Such a file should be simple in construction, convenient to handle, and detachable in its parts, so that the portion needed at any particular time may be removed without necessitating; the handling of the entire bulk of 3001111111- latcd matter. To accomplish these results we have designed the improved file illustrated, in which M represents any convenient form of case containing one, two, or any number of com- 1 partments A B 0, each of which compartments would be dedicated to a general class of subjects. Thus if the file is to be used by a clergyman compartment A might be dedicated to notes on the Old Testament, compartment B to notes on the New Testament, 5 compartment 0 to topical notes, the. e

then provide a set of portfolios P P P" and a set of blanks K K K of equal size, which shall fit neatly into the compartments of the case M, as shown in Fig. 1.

Each portfolio consists simply cf two leaves 5 5 L L, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, and has printed on its face a general descriptive title of its contents corresponding to the title of the compartment in which it is to be placed, such as Notes, Topical Notes, the, and also a title, character, or abbreviation referring to the specific sub-class which that particular portfolio contains.

Each of the blanks K K K has attached to it, preferablyin the upper left-hand corner, a projection or tag. or each of the blanks K K K may be so shaped as to have a part of the blank projecting, on which is printed an abbreviation or character corresponding to the abbreviation or character marked on the face of the portfolio to which that blank corresponds, indicating its particular sub-class of contents. Thus each of the blanks corresponding to a portfolio to be used in the compartment of topical notes would have on this projection or tag a mark such as A, B, or O if the contents of that compartmentwere to be indexed alphabetically, or 1, 2, or 3 if the con tents were to be indexed numerically. In the same way theblanks corresponding to the portfolios to be used in the New Testament compartment would have the abbreviations Mat, Mark, and so on, to indicate the different books of the New Testament to which the corresponding portfolios were dcvoted. These projections or tags are so ar ranged that when the blanks and portfolios composing one set are assembled these pro j ections or tags will not obscure one another, but will be so graduated that all the marks contained thereon will be visible to the eye of the observer, as clearly indicated in Fig. 1.

The advantages of our improved file are obvious. It is simple in construction, and any worn or destroyed parts can be readily 5 replaced. Notes and memoranda of any shape can be readily placed in the portfolios with or without folding. The operator can refer instantly to any particular sub-class, and can withdraw the portfolio containing 190 the same without disturbing the other portions of the file, andwhen any particular subclass has been so withdrawn the'contents can be quickly examined and replaced withlittle danger of getting them into the wron pocket, as is frequentlythe case in ordinary forms of indexed files.

In using our invention the blanks bearing the projections or tags are sandwiched in betweenthe portfolios, being arranged in their regular order. Thus in arranging the topical notes the blank marked A would be first placed on the table face down. On this would be placed the portfolio marked A. Next the blank marked B, on this the portfolio marked 3. and so on. The whole set would then be placed in the compartment provided for them. \Vhenever the operator wishes to look up his notes on any particular topic, such as Palestine, he can readily find the portfolio marked P, which will be next to the blank whose tag has that mark. The portfolio may then be-easily removed,its contents examined, added to, or subtracted-from, and the'portfolio replaced without disturbing the rest of the file or by any possibility mixing up its contents. The'blanks K K K" may be dispensed with in the construction and use of our invention by placing the projections or tags upon the portfolios P PP", as shown in Fig. 5; but the use of the blanks K K K is preferred. Other means of associatingthe tags with -thei'r corresponding portfolios may be employed, and we do not limit ourselves to any particular method so long as the tags are definitely associated with their corresponding portfolios.

- other character referring to the position which the notes relating to the chapter andverse belonging to the lineswhich intersect at thatpoint occupies relatively to the other contents of the portfolio. Thus if the first notes or sermon which-the operator put in the portfolio related to-the seventh verse of the ninthuchapter of Genesis he would mark thosenotes 1 and putacorresponding nu- -meral at the point shown in Fig. 6. If-the next sermon were onthe fourth verse of the ielghteenth chapter; the figure 2 would be 1 written on it-and at thepoint in the table in= d-icated in Fig. 6, and so on, so that when the- -portfolio-becomes filled with a hundred or more sermons any one can be immediately 10- catedby looking in the tabularindex. Knowing the text of the desired sermon, its number is instantly given by said tabular index,

and as the contents of the portfolio are kept in numerical order the operator can turn to it at once.

Having therefore described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to protect by Letters Patent, is-

1. Au indexed file which consists of the combination of a number of portfolios of uniform size, each bearing on its face a general descriptive title of its contents and a particular character or abbreviation referring to the special sub-class contained therein, together with a corresponding numberof blanks of the same size as the portfolios, each of said blanks having a tag or projection which bears the same character or abbreviation as the portfolio to which that blank corresponds, said tags being so placed that when the complete set of blanks are assembled thetags will not obscure one another, but will all be visible to the observer, substantially asdescribed.

2. An indexed file whiclrconsists of the combination of a case having any number of separate compartments for general classes of matter, and in each compartment a number of portfolios of uniform size,- each bearing on itsface a general descriptive title of its contents and a particular character or abbreviation referring to the special sub-class contained therein, together with a corresponding number of blanks of the same size as the portfolios, each of said blanks having a tag or projection which bears the-same-character or abbreviation as the portfolio to which that blank corresponds and next to which it is placed, said tags being so placed that when the complete set of blanks is assembled the tags will not obscure one another; butwill all be visible to the observer, substantially as described.

An indexed file which consists of the combination of a number ofportfolios of uniform size, each bearing on its face a-general descriptive title of its contents andaparticular character orabbreviation referring to the special sub-class contained therein-,and'each of said portfolios having a tag or projection associated therewith which bears the same character orabbreviation as the portfolio bears upon its face, said tags pro ecting beyond the backs of the folios, being so placed that when the complete set of portfolios are assembled the tags will'not obscureone another, bnt will'all be visible to theobserver, substantially as described.

4. An indexed file which consists of the combination of acase having any number of separate compartments for general classes of matter, and in each compartment a number of portfolios of uniform size, each bearing on its faceageneral descriptive title of its contents and aparticular character or abbreviation referring to the special sub-class contained therein, and each of said portfolios having. a tag or projection associated therewith which bears the same character or abbreviation as the portfolio bears upon its face, said tags projecting beyond the backs of the folios, being so placed that where the complete set of portfolios are assembled the tags will not obscure one another, but will all be visible to the observer,substantially as described.

5. A set of portfolios for biblical notes, each portfolio being devoted to one book of the Bible and provided With an indexing-table which has vertical lines for chapters and horizontal lines for verses, with blank spaces at the intersection of said lines in which a character may be Written referring to the portfolio which that portion of the contents of the 

